Amazing food is becoming incredibly accessible. People will continue to dine at restaurants, but their experiences and the hospitality of the staff will become increasingly critical to whether or not a guest will return. Classic institutions, like Eleven Madison, have thrived because of their unrivalled dedication to customer experience and we will see an increasing trend of restaurants following suit. At The Lo & Behold Group, we’ve always believed in people being the most vital component to our success and we endeavour to continue to put out hospitality-led concepts.

Asian Sensations

Gone are the days where Asian food was reserved for only fine dining or take-away concepts. The international palate is turning to Asian flavours and we’re starting to see more and more incredible mid-range Asian influenced dining concepts like Bao London and Momofuku focused on elevating Asian basics with thoughtful ingredient sourcing, modern preparation methods and exquisite execution.

Delivery Services

Premium food delivery services have really flourished over the last couple of years and we now have the luxury of enjoying meals from our favourite concepts in the comfort of our homes. I imagine that this trend will continue to grow exponentially and perhaps even become sustaining revenue sources for restaurants. Across the globe we’re also starting to see chef-driven delivery concepts like Maple NYC and I believe this is something that will pick up in this part of the world as well.

More F&B businesses leveraging on delivery platforms like Deliveroo, UberEATS and going only online.

03: Beppe de Vito

Restaurateur of ilLido Group
Restaurants Under Group: Braci, Southbridge, Aura, ilLido At The Cliff, Osteria Art and &SONS Bacaro

Step back

Old will become new again; you’ll see more western/ European restaurants cooking primarily on fire and charcoal like Braci.

Eat your greens

Vegetables will also become the star ingredient this year, replacing meats and seafood as the main protein.

In a pickle

Another ancient method making a comeback is pickling, and this technique will be used in both food and cocktails. The bar industry will continue to grow, and like the restaurant scene, barmen will place higher emphasis on products and ingredients.

04: Fiona Ting

Group pastry chef, Artichoke, Bird Bird and Neh Neh Pop

Hand-held ice-creams

This year we've seen our frozen treats served in a sliced open doughnuts and funnel doughnuts, but I don't think we've seen the end of it. Go along the lines of more hand-held pastry vessels like a cookie-cup, churros-cup, brownie-cup or even a buttery croissant; they all taste good on their own but also compliment ice creams and soft serves immensely well.

Florals

Flowers seem to also be creeping their way into the F&B, we should also be seeing more floral-flavoured cakes, plated desserts and ice creams. Hibiscus, chrysanthemums, osmanthus, jasmine.. there's so much more to explore!

More restaurants chasing Michelin Stars means better food and service and more high end restaurants on the horizon.

06: Petrina Loh

Chef-owner, Morsels

Home comforts

Home deliveries of restaurant-quality food, via platforms like Foodist. I see more such platforms coming up.

Going local

Hopefully more widespread use of local and regional produce in kitchens than before, and a greater awareness in growing herbs and vegetables albeit in limited quantities, I can't be fully locavore but we have started replanting herbs and stuff we can use for our new kitchen and I see a lot of other restaurants doing that as well. I've used Asian vegetables like baby bok choy for salads which people don't often think can be used for salads.

The health movement

Incorporation of more food beneficial with health benefits. For example, lacto ferment, use of Chinese medicinal ingredients. Also, pickles, kombucha and sprouting.

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